History: Best movies about Italian Renaissance
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- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsLeonard WhitingOlivia HusseyJohn McEneryWhen two young members of feuding families meet, forbidden love ensues.
- DirectorRenato CastellaniStarsLaurence HarveySusan ShentallFlora RobsonIn Shakespeare's classic play, the Montagues and Capulets, two families of Renaissance Italy, have hated each other for years, but the son of one family and the daughter of the other fall desperately in love and secretly marry.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsNorma ShearerLeslie HowardJohn BarrymoreYoung love is poisoned by a generations long feud between two noble families.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsElizabeth TaylorRichard BurtonCyril CusackBrutish, fortune-hunting scoundrel Petruchio tames his wealthy, shrewish wife, Katharina.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsPlácido DomingoKatia RicciarelliJustino DíazVerdi's famous opera is brought to life in this production. The immortal tale of the noble Moor and his beautiful young wife, and of his lieutenant, whose jealousy and lust for power lead him to commit the ultimate treason.
- DirectorMichael RadfordStarsAl PacinoJoseph FiennesLynn CollinsIn 16th century Venice, when a merchant must default on a large loan from an abused Jewish moneylender for a friend with romantic ambitions, the bitterly vengeful creditor demands a gruesome payment instead.
- DirectorMarshall HerskovitzStarsCatherine McCormackRufus SewellOliver PlattA Venetian courtesan becomes a hero to her city, but later becomes the target of an inquisition by the Church for witchcraft.
- CreatorNeil JordanStarsJeremy IronsFrançois ArnaudHolliday GraingerIn the fifteenth century, Pope Alexander VI tries to control all power in Italy with the help of his several sons, through murder, intrigue, war, and marriage alliances.
- StarsOliver CottonMaurice O'ConnellLouis SelwynThe ruthless Rodrigo Borgia intends to become Pope and will not let anything stand in his way.
- CreatorTom FontanaStarsMark RyderIsolda DychaukDiarmuid NoyesStory of the rise and the fall of the Renaissance dynasty.
- DirectorChristian-JaqueStarsMartine CarolPedro ArmendárizValentine TessierIn the early 16th century, Italy is ruled by the powerful Borgia family, led by César Borgia and his sister Lucrètè. In a ruthless power play, César plots to have his sister's husband murdered. But without her brother's knowledge, Lucrècè has taken a strong lover who will challenge the Borgias.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsJohn LundPaulette GoddardMacdonald CareyA female Borgia is sent out to live up to the family name by killing someone, but falls in love with her intended victim.
- DirectorAntonio HernándezStarsLluís HomarSergio Peris-MenchetaMaría ValverdeA portrait of the bloody dynasty that spawned a pope, Alexander VI, as well as the role model for Machiavelli's "The Prince," his son Cesare Borgia, and a legend of femme duplicity, daughter Lucrezia Borgia.
- DirectorPino MercantiStarsCameron MitchellConrado San MartínMaria Grazia SpinaCesare Borgia--a cardinal in the Catholic church, a confidant of the Pope and a member of one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in 16th-century Italy--must deal with a host of political and personal crises. He is having problems with his mistress, and members of a secret society called The Black Carnation are out to assassinate him.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsTyrone PowerOrson WellesWanda HendrixAn unscrupulous agent for the Borgias suffers a change of heart when asked to betray a noble count and his much younger, very beautiful wife.
- DirectorGiorgio Walter ChiliStarsVirna LisiCarlo GiuffrèSergio FantoniGiovanni Medici, the future leader of the Black Bands, has a last meeting in a convent with his dying mother Caterina Sforza, listening to the re-enactment of her life.
- DirectorErmanno OlmiStarsChristo JivkovSergio GrammaticoDimitar RachkovThe history of the first victim of modern artillery and its moving agony, amidst conspiracies and betrayals of the powerful. Life and death of Giovanni De' Medici, a young brave captain in the war of Charles V against the Pope, in the first half of 1500.
- DirectorPasquale Festa CampanileStarsBud SpencerFranco AgostiniEnzo CannavaleMedieval soldier of fortune Ettore is travelling through Europe with his partners looking for fight where they can earn some money. When they come across a Spanish castle under siege by the French army, Ettore first bides his time to determine which side is the winning one (and thus more likely to pay his fee). This is as first the French, but the treatment he receives from them is unpleasant enough to make him change his mind and turn to the Spanish side. Somehow, Ettore must rally the weakened Spanish troops to battle their enemy long enough for reinforcements to arrive.
- DirectorAlberto LattuadaStarsRosanna SchiaffinoPhilippe LeroyRomolo ValliAdaptation of the comic play by Macchiavelli about a man's attempt to bed a woman unable to have a child by pretending to be a doctor.Machiavelli's play
- DirectorFerruccio CerioStarsPierre CressoyHélène RémyVittorio SanipoliRome, 1527. Massimo Colonna is in love with Angela, a member of the Orsinis, the Colonnas'arch enemies. As she is officially engaged to Tancredi Serra, the latter, a faithless individual, has Massimo accused of the murder of Prince Orsini whereas he himself has woven it. Massimo is rejected by an outraged Angela and banned from Rome.Meanwhile the Eternal City has to face a brutal attack by armed invaders from Spain. The Spaniards are about to storm Rome when Massimo and his troops appear. The invading forces are defeated and Massimo is acclaimed by the crowd. After clearing his name, he can marry Angela.
- DirectorSönke WortmannStarsJohanna WokalekDavid WenhamJohn GoodmanA woman of English extraction born in the German city of Ingelheim in the ninth century disguises herself as a man and rises through the Vatican ranks.
- DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsFranco CittiNinetto DavoliJovan JovanovicAn adaptation of nine stories from Boccaccio's "Decameron".
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsGraham FaulknerJudi BowkerLeigh LawsonDramatization of events in the life of St. Francis of Assisi from before his conversion experience through his audience with the pope, including his friendship with St. Clare.
- StarsPhilippe LeroyGiulio BosettiGiorgio PiazzaMiniseries dramatizing the life of the Italian Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsCharlton HestonRex HarrisonDiane CilentoThe biographical story of Michelangelo's troubles while painting the Sistine Chapel at the urging of Pope Julius II.Michaelangelo
- DirectorDerek JarmanStarsNoam AlmazDexter FletcherNigel TerryA retelling of the life of the celebrated 17th-century painter through his brilliant, nearly blasphemous paintings and his flirtations with the underworld.
- DirectorAgnès MerletStarsValentina CerviMichel SerraultPredrag 'Miki' ManojlovicArtemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653) was one of the first well-known female painters. The movie tells the story of her youth, when she was guided and protected by her father, the painter Orazio Gentileschi. Her professional curiosity about the male anatomy, forbidden for her eyes, led her to the knowledge of sexual pleasure. But she was also well known because in 1612 she had to appear in a courtroom because her teacher, Agostino Tassi, was suspected of raping her. She tried to protect him, but was put in the thumb screws...
- StarsF. Murray AbrahamSteven BerkoffJuliette CatonAt the turn of the sixteenth century, Michelangelo (Mark Frankel), Raphael (Andrea Prodan), and Leonardo Da Vinci (John Glover) create their masterpieces, while dealing with religious prosecution, political turmoil, and the discovery of America.
- DirectorGiacomo BattiatoStarsWadeck StanczakMax von SydowBernard-Pierre DonnadieuThe story of Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), a soldier and one of the most important craftsmen and artists of Renaissance Italy, whose life was marked by many achievements and adventures, but also crimes.Benvenuto Cellini
- DirectorRiccardo FredaStarsBrett HalseyClaudia MoriFrançoise FabianBenvenuto Cellini knows no obstacles when it comes to creating a work of art or conquering the heart of a woman.Benvenuto Cellini
- DirectorGregory La CavaStarsConstance BennettFredric MarchFrank MorganThe 16th-century sculptor woos the Duchess of Florence despite the duke.
- DirectorYannis SmaragdisStarsNick Clark WindoJuan Diego BottoLaia MarullThe story of the uncompromising artist and fighter for freedom, Domenicos Theotokopoulos, known to the world as "El Greco".
- DirectorGiuliano MontaldoStarsGian Maria VolontèHans Christian BlechMathieu CarrièreFleeing from his enemies in the Catholic Church, the free thinking philosopher, poet and scientist Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) has found some protection in Venice. But the Roman Inquisition, fearing his influence in Europe, wants to bring him on trial for heresy.
- DirectorLuigi ZampaStarsFosco GiachettiJacqueline LaurentEnzo FiermonteIn Renaissance Rome, the captain of Strozzi mercenary kills the banker Chigi that has refused the hand of his daughter Berta, girlfriend of Giuliano de 'Medici, brother of Cardinal Giovanni. Accused of the crime is instead the young Julian, who is arrested and locked up in jail while awaiting trial. Meanwhile the real murderess unashamedly confesses the crime to Cardinal Giovanni, who can not violate the secrecy of confession remain helpless before the judges who condemn him to the gallows. But shortly before the Cardinal with a ruse it shall enable the Strozzi to confess the crime in the presence of witnesses hidden. Giuliano is immediately released and can then marry his Berta.
- DirectorVeljko BulajicStarsSven MedvesekSandra CeccarelliZarko PotocnjakThe film is set in mid-16th century, at a time when the entire eastern Mediterranean is dominated by two great empires, the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice, with the small but wealthy maritime republic of Ragusa (modern-day Dubrovnik) managing to maintain its independence through diplomatic agreements.
- DirectorDomenico PaolellaStarsAnne HeywoodLuc MerendaOrnella MutiDuring the 1570s, in the convent of Sant'Arcangelo di Baiano, after the death of the mother superior, a power struggle rages on, as one nun, who comes from a powerful family, is willing to do anything to become the new abbess.